A RECORD number of 255 female long-distance runners will test their mettle in tonight’s All-Women’s Ultra Marathon (AWUM) starting at the front of the Cebu City Hall.
The race, which starts 10 p.m., will be a 50-kilometer run that will end at the Family Park in Talamban, Cebu City.
Tony Galon, the organizer of the running event and the president of the Cebu Ultra runners Club (CUC), said that this year’s AWUM sets a record number of participants, breaking last year’s record of 200 female long-distance runners.
Defending champion Mereeis Ramirez of Dumaguete City will be joining but she may not be in her best form as she is currently nursing an injury.
Strong contenders are former AWUM champion Jade Abellana, Rhoda Oporto, Preciosa Sanchez, Virginia Parajenog, Mary Luz Shimizu and Wilma Theresa Lugay.
This year’s route is a more challenging one as runners will have to go through tough uphill climbs in Banawa and Lahug and three bridges—the Mandaue-Mactan, Marcelo Fernan and Cansaga bridges.